Voyage to the Stars: Your New Favorite Podcast at WonderCon 2019

I was pleasantly surprised by a last-minute WonderCon 2019 panel that was recommended to me on Sunday afternoon of the convention. Although one of the last panels of the show, Voyage to the Stars ended up being one of my favorites of the weekend. The voice cast led me to the panel, but it was the cast chemistry and fun that has made the podcast a permanent entry in my rotation.

Podcasts can be hard for me. I don’t really commute, and I get easily distracted when I listen to them while doing…anything. I do, however, make an exception for comedy, and even more so for improv. It may then be surprising that this WonderCon panel was the first time I had heard of Voyage to the Stars, and it makes me a bit sad that it took so long to get onto my radar. The weekly podcast features the voice talents of Felicia Day, Janet Varney, Colton Dunn, and Steve Berg in the main cast, along with various guest voices.

Produced by Madison Wells Media, the podcast is partially scripted by director/creator Ryan Copple and the voice cast fills in the pieces. The story takes place in 2263 on a spaceship with a motley crew of misfits. Through the format of crew logs, this hilarious podcast will have you laughing out loud. And the best part? They occasionally have live shows so the audience can get up-close-and-personal to Captain Tucker, Stew, Elsa, and Sorry.

The thing that really stood out for me at the panel was just how passionate the cast and crew is for this podcast. One of the things that all of them kept saying throughout the panel is that if you are a creator and you cannot find a medium as an outlet for your creativity, create one and make it happen! This seems to really be what the cast latched onto when developing the podcast. As Varney pointed out, “We have a ton of stuff to work off of that we know we need to hit, but the way in which we get there and how we talk to each other and where our relationships are, how they form and all that kind of stuff, Ryan kind of lets us sort of really be playful with and so that’s why for us it really has a lot of energy and a lot of liveliness because we’re constantly kind of surprising each other which is one of the things I think really carries across when you listen to it.”

This chemistry definitely comes across in the podcast, and it is easy to see why. Most of the cast has known each other for over ten years and worked together multiple times. As Day mentioned in a hilarious series of comments, it is much easier to know when to crack a fart joke when you know the people you are hanging out with. And really, this knowledge is what makes improv and reactionary comedy so great, especially when you trust the people you are with and everyone is out to make everyone else look more funny.

I would definitely recommend Voyage to the Stars if comedy and improv is your thing. You can find it on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you go to listen and subscribe to your favorite podcasts. And don’t forget to leave a review if you like it.

Author: Erin

Erin has reviewed many shows over the years including Orphan Black, iZombie, Penny Dreadful, and Killing Eve. She has a keen eye for on-screen chemistry, and loves to tackle the subject of casting. She is also our horror aficionado. She live tweets shows, and loves to share her feelings. Erin has a BA in History, and likes to analyze the lore behind historical fiction. She attends San Diego Comic Con every year and has also attended C2E2 and WonderCon.